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Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Red-napped Sapsucker

Madison County has had high water and many of the areas I love to bird is still not available.  But today I was able to get a picture of a Red-napped Sapsucker and will try to get some more, but for now I will use some old pictures of these beautiful birds for the Madison County bird this week.

Here a sapsucker is looking for a hollow tree to drill a nest in


To feed, the sapsuckers drill series of holes in the bark of trees.  When the holes fill up with sap and insects, they feed on them.  Each visit, they will drill another row of holes to collect the sap.


They will use any type of tree that will produce a lot of sap.



Another great bird that are summer residents of Madison County, Idaho.

18 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

beautiful shots of these elusive birds!

Larry said...

Great shots of the Red-naped Sapsucker Bill! Sapsuckers are an amazing group of woodpeckers whose wells are used by many other bird species as a food source. The Rufous Hummingbird even builds its nest near their sap wells.

I love that second shot showing the bird's yellow belly.

Stewart M said...

Hi there - great pictures.

I like the way the tree looks like a cheese grater!

Splendid bird.

Stewart M - Australia

Unknown said...

Great captures!! Boom & gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

Springman said...

Wow! What a great study. A picture being worth a thousand words was never more true. Thanks for the great images of the Red-napped sapsucker at work!

Carol Blackburn said...

Thanks for that education on these interesting birds. I never took the time to research them and was taught they poked holes to get insects from under the bark and I heard nothing about them using the sap. Makes sense now. I had heard the term "yellow-bellied sapsucker" but it was not associsted with a woodpecker at the time. The things one learns at age 60. Enjoy your day.

jeanlivingsimple said...

Awesome photos plus interesting info about this neat bird!

Anonymous said...

Great photos showing the Sapsucker and his handiwork! A beautiful bird!

eileeninmd said...

Fantastic info and photos of the Sapsucker, They are pretty birds.

missing moments said...

I've not seen these guys ... beautiful pics!

holdingmoments said...

Such a lovely bird. And how on earth do they know just what to do? Amazing.

BirdingMaine said...

Awesome captures of the Red-napped Sapsucker and the tap holes Bill!

theconstantwalker said...

An absolute beauty.
Stunning images of beautiful looking looking bird.

mick said...

Great photos of an interesting bird.

Pat Ulrich said...

Such a lovely bird -- so interesting to see the pattern of its holes!

Sondra said...

Oh what a find! We have the yellow bellied here but I havent seen one around in a couple of years! They generally work on the popular trees we have at the back line of the property..THE Trees are FULL of holes so they must still be active but staying well hidden! Great PHOTOS!

Jeanne Frances Klaver said...

What a gorgeous bird! Those holes are a work of art.

Wendy said...

I think I'm really going to enjoy your blog, you seem to have a lot of birds I don't have around here which is always interesting :) I really like your last photo, very nice detail.